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Pilkington
Slough Ranch Marker Dedication
June 6, 2009
In late 2001, Mary Belle Ingram, then the chairman of the Marker
Committee of the Matagorda County Historical Commission began
researching the history of the Pilkington Slough Ranch. Brothers
Abel Head "Shanghai" Pierce and Jonathan Edwards Pierce were early
Texas cattlemen who amassed a vast acreage in southwestern Matagorda
County in the late 1800's. When they divided their land, much of the
acreage they owned west of the Colorado River became Jonathan's sole
property. A portion of this land was acquired from the Yeamans
family in about 1880. Daniel, Elias and Erastus Yeamans were three
brothers who fought in the Texas War for independence. They had each
received 1/3 of a League of land through Land Grant Certificates as
early settlers of Texas. Elias and Erastus died in the Battle of
Goliad. A portion of this acreage comprised the bulk of what is
today know as the Pilkington Slough Ranch. In about 1889, Jonathan
Pierce assembled a headquarters here, near the Pilkington Slough,
which was so named for Samuel Pilkington, an early area physician.
Buildings and materials salvaged from the abandoned settlement of
Palacios Point were moved by barge and oxen cart to the present site
and used to construct Pierce's ranch home, barn and out buildings.
The site was selected by his foreman, Robert D. Murry. Jonathan
maintained control of the ranch until his death in 1915. A large
amount of Pierce's acreage was subdivided in the early 1900's and
sold off to investors in an effort to colonize the area. The town of
Collegeport was founded in 1908 by the Burton D. Hurd Land Company
on a 320 acre site just north of the Pilkington Slough. The area was
promoted as having rich farmland suited to growing citrus and other
crops and that a family could sustain itself with the production of
as little as five acres. The promotion scheme enticed many
mid-western families to buy property here. My grandparents, Gust
and Ellen Franzen and their children, Dorothy and Arnold were among
these pioneers. The acreage comprising the Pilkington Slough Ranch
was kept back while surrounding acreage was subdivided and sold.
Despite attempts to develop a port and commerce, the economy forced
many to return from whence they came. Some, including my
grandparents stayed and made their lives here. The Gulf Coast
University, from which Collegeport derived its name, closed in 1915.
The proposed Pilkington Ship Channel failed to develop. The
developers plan seemed a failure. The Pilkington Slough Ranch
remained a silent observer of the walk of man. The grasslands of the
coastal prairie had been proven to sustain cattle, and with the
irrigation system in place, rice production proved to be best suited
to the soil and climate. Through the last century many families
lived on the ranch as grazing and farming tenants. The last Pierce
descendant to live on the ranch was Benjamin Bull Pierce. (His
daughter Grace is here today.) The subsequent owners-Matagorda Land
& Cattle Company utilized the ranch for its farming and ranching
interests as we do today. In July of 2005, Hurricane Claudette
damaged the ranch house, initiating repairs that resulted in a total
renovation which was completed in September of 2006. The barn, which
sustained more damage, has not yet been repaired.
Mrs. Ingram suggested the Pilkington Slough Ranch be the subject of
an informational marker for several reasons:
1. Its historical association to the Jonathan Pierce family, who
played a crucial role in the development of southwestern Matagorda
County,
2. Its contribution to the agricultural economy of the area,
3. and the fact that the ranch complex has maintained its integrity
through these many years.
In an 1898 interview reported in the Galveston Daily News,
Jonathan Pierce related that as the railroad had already come to
Matagorda County, colonization was imminent, and that the day of the
vast grasslands where cattle was king would soon come to an end. Was
it prophecy, or were the plans already in place to sell off his
property? We don't know for sure, but we do know that he retained
the acreage known as Pilkington Slough Ranch which was held in the
Pierce family until about 1970, when it was acquired by the
Matagorda Land & Cattle Company.
Upon entering the ranch, one can step back in time and view the
prairie and flats of the Pilkington Slough much as they were seen
through the eyes of Pierce, his ranch hands, and the early tenants
who grazed and tilled this land. Little has changed in this span of
time. Hear again the melody of fiddles and accordions as neighbors
gather for a barn dance, or the praises of an early-rising group of
Christians gathering for Easter services overlooking the slough.
There are several such accounts recorded in early newspapers
illustrating the significance this place had to the early
Collegeport community.
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